Electrical stimulation of peripheral, central and autonomic neural structures have shown increased interest due to the potential benefits it may provide to individuals suffering from many neurological and behavioral diseases. Many of these therapies today are not well accepted or are considered last in the therapeutic options due to the invasive nature of the therapy even through the efficacy may be quite good. This has created a need for less invasive therapies that are directed toward patient and physician clinical needs
Implantable neurostimulator devices are used to deliver therapy to patients to treat a variety of symptoms or conditions such as chronic pain, tremor, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, incontinence, sexual dysfunction, or gastroparesis. The neurostimulator delivers neurostimulation therapy via one or more leads that include electrodes located proximate to the peripheral, central or autonomic neural structures of a patient. In general, the neurostimulator delivers neurostimulation therapy in the form of electrical pulses. Depending on the application for which they are implanted in a patient, neurostimulators may include a variety of electrical and/or mechanical components. Typically, a neurostimulator includes a rigid hermetically electronics enclosure that houses all of its components, which are generally fragile, to protect the components from forces to which they would otherwise be exposed when implanted within the human body. The size and shape of a neurostimulator housing is dependent on the sizes and shapes of the components of the neurostimulator.
Typically implantable medical devices are hermetically sealed by first using a brazing process between a ceramic (e.g. partially stabilized zirconium oxide) and a metal (e.g. titanium) to create a zirconium oxide to metal bond. The final seal is made by laser welding a titanium lid to the metal component. Some neurostimulators communicate wireless via radio frequency therefore using a welding method that eliminates the metal components (e.g. titanium) would be advantageous and increase communication performance.